Hayes Collective alum Nørbak teams up with Kr!z’ Token Records to release an EP full of dense and texturally rich tracks with loads of sonic imagery on “Sopro.”
Translated into English, ‘sopro’ from Portuguese means ‘to blow,’ and the feeling of this “Sopro” EP is similar to a strong invisible force pushing textures within the sonic stage. Imagine the clanking shutters in “Teste” and the rustling of leaves on the streets. The little bits of sonic synthetic sand scumbled over each other in “Sopro”. Or the fierce cold cymbals in your face in “Veneta,” as if you’re facing a strong Atlantic breeze; you might get a hint of what’s going on here.
Overall, the EP is a strong statement about sonic imagery and smokey modulations that move slowly on the air and seem to have a definite story to tell behind them. What that is, is left up to your imagination. This has been done a lot in classical music—the music sets the narrative for your imagination to run wild. But in many cases in Techno, it has not been explored until recently.
It’s a cliche to say a DJ tells a story with their DJ sets, but with songs that are pieces of a musical narrative, it might be time to reassess this statement as being more true. However, the outlier on this EP, and the most radical exploration, is in the highlight of the synthetic tom in “Clima.” This reads a bit more like the typical abstraction of Techno music where the sonic imagery is more about composition and presents a focal point for your mind to examine while the rest of the elements slip under the radar and pull you deeper and deeper into the mix. It really is just a fantastic and unique statement.
It is definitely hard to go wrong here with such a rich and well-designed “Sopro” EP full of music elements that just fit and sit so well together. Nørbak is on top of his game as is basically everyone in the Hayes Collective right now. Something is definitely in the water over there in Portugal. If you haven’t had a moment to check out the Lisbon scene, it’s probably time to dig a little deeper.
-Sean Ocean
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